Dear Humans,

I haven’t seen the ESPN documentary about Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, but I have been reading a lot about Michael Jordan recently. Now we see Michael Jordan as a logo on your sneakers.

But he was a real person with a real history. Biographies show us what events form individuals into the icons that we see. The famous story is how MJ was cut from his high school varsity team. But the guy who took his spot–Leroy Smith–was a pretty good player himself, who played college and professional basketball.

And it made me wonder what slight changes in history could have made Leroy Smith into the logo that you see on your shoes. Because nothing is ever destined.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck